Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Sells 7,831 Shares of Southern Copper Corporation $SCCO

Key Points

• Manning & Napier Advisors cut its Southern Copper stake by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,831 shares and leaving it with 79,172 shares worth about $11.5 million.
• Southern Copper reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $1.92 and revenue of $4.25 billion, both ahead of analyst expectations. The company also announced a 1.01-for-1 stock split effective May 13.
• The company declared a $1.00 quarterly dividend payable May 29, implying a 2.2% yield, while analysts currently hold a Reduce consensus rating with a $144.25 average price target.

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE:SCCO - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,172 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,831 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern Copper were worth $11,518,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern Copper in the third quarter worth about $2,976,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 5.7% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 148,484 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $17,778,000 after acquiring an additional 7,995 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 2,631.9% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 13,441 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,631,000 after acquiring an additional 12,949 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern Copper by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 35,647 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,326,000 after purchasing an additional 12,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern Copper by 159.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,308 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 6,341 shares during the last quarter. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southern Copper news, Director Bonilla Luis Miguel Palomino sold 193 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.60, for a total transaction of $33,697.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,042.20. This represents a 10.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Southern Copper Trading Up 3.3%

SCCO stock opened at $185.51 on Friday. Southern Copper Corporation has a 52-week low of $88.13 and a 52-week high of $223.88. The company has a quick ratio of 3.89, a current ratio of 4.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $151.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.66, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.07. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $182.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.92.

Southern Copper's stock is going to split before the market opens on Wednesday, May 13th. The 1.01-1 split was recently announced. The newly issued shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Tuesday, May 12th.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.96 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 45.63% and a net margin of 34.13%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southern Copper Corporation will post 6.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Southern Copper's payout ratio is presently 66.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on SCCO. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Southern Copper from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Southern Copper from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $178.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Scotiabank reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $133.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Southern Copper in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $171.00 price objective on shares of Southern Copper and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Southern Copper from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $162.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southern Copper currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $144.25.

About Southern Copper

Southern Copper Corporation NYSE: SCCO is a large, integrated copper producer whose operations span the full value chain from exploration and mining to smelting, refining and the sale of copper and other metal products. The company produces a range of copper products including copper concentrate and refined cathodes, and recovers valuable byproducts such as molybdenum, silver and zinc. Southern Copper concentrates on high-volume, long-life assets designed to support steady production and processing capabilities.

Southern Copper's operations are concentrated in Peru and Mexico, where it owns and operates multiple large-scale mining and processing facilities.

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